What the Kale should I do?

[Richard Kilgore]

I have Kale. Never cooked it, but assume I can do with it much like you would with spinach. Any flavor combinations to go for...or to avoid? I was thinking of doing a gratin with bacon, cream bread crumbs and romano pecorino. What do you do with it in your kitchen?

[fresco]

The gratin would probably work. Kale is a lot tougher than spinach, and takes longer to cook. It goes well in soups. The Portuguese use it in a version with potatoes, chorizo, etc.

[fifi]

I was about to post a wisely developed recipe but realized that I have never cooked kale. Odd. I was thinking of chard.

If this were my first attempt, I would fry off some bacon in a deep heavy pot then add the kale and wilt down. Then I would put that in the gratin. I don't think you want to heap up all of those leaves in a gratin and hope that they wilt down on their own. (I had one of my infamous visuals of you trying that.)

[slbunge]

Kale can be very good as a gratin. With enough bacon, cream, and pecorino romano cardboard would work fine in a gratin.

My two favorite things to do with kale:

Wilted and served underneath poached fish

Potato kale soup with red chili

[sequim]

The gratin would probably work. Kale is a lot tougher than spinach, and takes longer to cook. It goes well in soups. The Portuguese use it in a version with potatoes, chorizo, etc.

It is tougher than spinach but has less water. I love it, having just discovered it. I put it in a hot pan with olive oil and try to crisp it up without burning. Then as it cooks down a tad, add some garlic. I think it has a nutty flavor and smell which I find unique among greens. I don't cook it too long as I like it somewhat chewy.

[agnolottigirl]

I made this last week, and it was pretty good. Olive oil, garlic, shallots, chopped kale, canellini beans with pasta--I used torchio, but orecchiette, radiatore, or another substantial/chunky shape would work too. Oh--and s&p, some parmesan grated over.

[Jason Perlow]

Chop it up, cook the hell out of it in some chicken stock and use it in a soup. Add some cannelini beans, some pasta, some canned san marzano tomatoes, some cut up salty italian ham, some macaroni, add some parmesan cheese, and your'e done.

[Lois]

You can also cut it up (make sure to discard the tough stems), toss it with a little olive oil and roast it in the oven--high heat, about 20 minutes. The leaves on top get crispy, almost like kale potato chips, and the ones underneath get tender. Yum! I get a whole bunch of it and fill up a 9x13 pan. When it's done, add salt and pepper or whatever you like. (I like to chop up oil-cured preserved Meyer lemons and mix them in.) Good hot or at room temperature. Alternatively, you can do this with a little sesame oil for an Asian version.

I also like to make kale and white bean soup (with or without chorizo). It's great in soup.

For my money, the best variety to use is the dark green dinosaur or lacinato kale.

Edited March 9, 2004 by Lois (log)

[fifi]

I am lusting after growing some of THESE in my garden next year as part of my ornamental plantings. These pictures do not do justice to these spectacular plants. But, can I eat them?

[Mabelline]

Thanks for that link, fifi, I just ordered their catalogue. Sure, you can eat them...I mean you aren't putting any pesticides on them, are you? The only thing about 'bred for' ornamentals, is that sometimes flavor is sacrificed.

Lois, that roasted kale sounds good enough to buy some and try it. Roasted cauliflower worked for me! That kale sounds as good!!

[Richard Kilgore]

What a great bunch of good sounding ideas! I am really glad I asked.

Fifi -- you have such great faith in my cooking good sense. Or maybe you know me too well. Pretty funny visual, I admit.

[fifi]

Can someone describe for me what kale tastes like? I really like spinach and kale. I am not too fond of the stronger greens like mustards and collards. What is it more like? I can see that it would be a more "toothsome" texture.

[slbunge]

It's not nearly as peppery as mustard greens. I haven't had collard greens in a while so I'm not certain how they differ.

It tastes a bit less of soil than spinach. It tends not to produce the sort of filmy (almost gritty) feeling on the teeth like Chard does. Sort of reminiscent of cabbage. It holds its shape and some of its texture even after cooking for a long time. Similar to other greens, it can have a vaguely metalic taste, particularly when undercooked. I find that on it's own, it can be a bit flat but it has the nice effect of really deepening flavors when used with potatoes, beans or fish (or all three, I imagine).

The idea of combining it with preserved Meyer lemons is definitely worth investigating.

[chefrodrigo]

It is tougher than spinach but has less water. I love it, having just discovered it. I put it in a hot pan with olive oil and try to crisp it up without burning. Then as it cooks down a tad, add some garlic. I think it has a nutty flavor and smell which I find unique among greens. I don't cook it too long as I like it somewhat chewy.

I do the same thing with a squeeze of lemon at the end.

Rodney

[edsel]

You can also cut it up (make sure to discard the tough stems), toss it with a little olive oil and roast it in the oven--high heat, about 20 minutes. The leaves on top get crispy, almost like kale potato chips, and the ones underneath get tender. Yum! I get a whole bunch of it and fill up a 9x13 pan. When it's done, add salt and pepper or whatever you like. (I like to chop up oil-cured preserved Meyer lemons and mix them in.) Good hot or at room temperature. Alternatively, you can do this with a little sesame oil for an Asian version.

I also like to make kale and white bean soup (with or without chorizo). It's great in soup.

Lois, your roasted kale sounds awesome. I'll have to try it some time. The kale + white beans + sausage soup sounds like a Portuguese caldo (thick/hearty soup) - very satisfying indeed.

Richard - As others have mentioned kale is much sturdier stuff than spinach, and has a flavor sort of like collards but not exactly. Be sure to strip away the tough ribs, as Lois said, and cook it longer than other greens or shred it finer. The latter approach is used in the Brazilian dish "Couve a Mineira", which could hardly be simpler:

Clean the kale, strip away the tough stems, and shred it to a fine chiffonade.

Blanch briefly in boiling salted water.

Drain and toss into a hot skillet with a bit of pork fat or olive oil.

Cook a few minutes until starting to crisp but not brown.

The blanching step is optional but makes it easier to get the kale sufficiently cooked without burning it. Shredding to the right degree of fineness is somwhat labor-intensive but worth the effort. When I lived in Brazil our family cook, who was from Minas Gerais (Couve a Mineira means Kale in the style of Minas) used to shred the kale as fine as excelsior. She didn't bother with the blanching step, and used Brazilian (unsmoked) bacon for the fat. I'm thinking that pancetta might work as a substitute.

For my money, the best variety to use is the dark green dinosaur or lacinato kale.

I'd never seen the lacinato variety until a couple of months ago. I spotted it in the local Whole-Foods-ish market and couldn't resist, even though it was a bit pricey. Could you educate us on the different varieties? Most stores don't even identify the variety at all.

[Lois]

Thanks, everyone! I served the roasted kale with Meyer lemons at Thanksgiving and it was the only thing at the table that was completely finished.

On the varieties of kale, I generally see three varieties in my local markets (in San Francisco):

Regular old kale is a medium green color (the color is like that of spinach or a little lighter) with very curly-edged leaves (the shape of the leaves is probably the most similar to the ornamental kales you see in gardens).

Russian or red kale is a silvery grayish green, tinged with a reddish purple at the tips of the leaves. The leaves are a kind of odd finger-shape spreading out from the central ribs, almost like dandelion greens (but the leaves are much thicker and tougher, of course). For me, the flavor of Russian kale is too strong--it has kind of a bitter edge.

Dinosaur or lacinato kale has very dark green leaves, similar in color to Swiss chard or even darker. The leaves are flatter and more of an oval shape--only slightly curly. I prefer the flavor of it, which is deep but fairly mild, and the leaves are a lot easier to work with, both in terms of getting them off the stem and cutting them into even pieces, since they are flatter. I also think the color is gorgeous--very dramatic. (It's very pretty with the preserved lemons, which look like jewels against the almost black roasted kale.)

[bleachboy]

My wife loves to make potato-kale soup. She's crazy about it the way I am about potato-leek soup. Indeed, I think the recipes are pretty much the same, just using kale instead of leek. Give it a shot, it's a ridiculously simple yet very satisfying dish for cold lazy nights.

[Revallo]

I had kale and chard for dinner just about every night last year working at the renowned restaurant Scotty's Table in Missoula, MT. I started with olive oil and butter, then shallots, lightly carmolizing them, then garlic, summer squash and the chard and kale stems that are cut on an extreme bias(like a diagonal julienne), after a minute i added the rough ciffonade of chard and kale leaves (add S/P before they wilt for even seasoning. Then I would add the left over dinner rice (still hot) then deglaze with a good amount of balsamic. let that reduce for second and then plate, finish with a drizzle of balsamic reduction. Kale is of the cabbage family and chard of the beet, i believe. Both are cruciferous meaning they may help inhibate the growth of certain cancer cells.

[marie-louise]

The Boiled Kale in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook is incredible-despite its unappetizing name. I like the version on toast w/ an fried egg in a little red wine vinegar...

[Mudpuppie]

1. Clean kale and cut into strips (remove tough stems)

2. Rehydrate a handful of raisins in ~1/2 cup of hot water.

3. Saute sliced garlic in olive oil, along with a pinch of red pepper flakes.

4. Add kale, saute until wilted.

5. Add raisin water, cover, and simmer until kale is tender. May need to add more water at some point, but don't add too much.

6. When kale is finished, add the raisins.

7. Top with toasted pecans (or walnuts or pine nuts) and crumbled feta.

8. Yum.

[purplewiz]

I love kale, it's laden with nutrients, and it's got this great chewy texture even when cooked.

I second (or third, or seventh, whatever we're up to) the idea to use it in soup. I've made potato/chorizo/kale soup, and it's wonderful, but it works just as well in beef barley or chicken vegetable. Adds an almost noodle-like texture.

My favorite way is a variation on a recipe I found somewhere on the net:

Take a bunch of kale, destem, chop roughly into large pieces, and simmer in water until mostly cooked. Drain well.

Meanwhile, rehydrate some sundried tomatoes in about a cup of chicken broth. Chop the tomatoes and return to the broth.

Heat up some olive oil over medium heat, add some red pepper flakes and garlic, and saute until garlic is starting to turn gold and fragrant. Add the drained kale and sautee a minute or so.

Add the chicken broth/tomatoes mixture, and let steam if you need to cook the kale some more. If it doesn't, or when the kale is tender to your liking, remove the lid and reduce the liquid down, tossing once in awhile.

Add feta cheese crumbles, toss well, serve.

This stuff is even better the next day (if there's any left). Sorry about no measurements, but at this point, I don't measure, I just throw things in.

It's also really good sauteed (after parboiling/draining) with some garlic, and then a squeeze of lemon juice at the end. Maybe a sprinkle of sea salt.

Marcia.

[Marco_Polo]

We get kale often through the winter months in our weekly organic vegetable box from Riverford.

One of my favourite ways to enjoy it is cooked with pasta Southern-Italian style. This is what I do.

1. De-stalk the kale and roughly chop, then parboil until just tender. Add a chopped potato or two to the pot while your cooking it.

2. Meanwhile slice 4 cloves of fat garlic and stew in extra-virgin olive oil together with a chopped chilli or two (or some dried chilli pepper flakes). Add the cooked kale and potatoes to the mixture, then a glass of white wine or a cup of broth, season with salt and pepper, cover and allow to cook until tender (I do this in a wok). Sometimes the mixture goes almost mushy, like a dense vegetable sauce, other times we eat while everything still hangs together: both ways are good.

3. Cook some pasta (I like penne rigate or you can use something like orecchiette) al dente. When done, add to the kale medley, turn up the heat and toss to mix well. At this point you may need to add a ladle of chicken stock or broth, or perhaps some more olive oil. Serve in bowls, with a good dribble of your best extra-virgin olive oil on top. Definitely no parmigiano or pecorino: this is a no-cheese pasta.

Enjoy with a good, gutsy bottle of Puglian wine, say a Salice Salentino, Copertino or a dense, jammy Primitivo di Manduria.

MP

[Carlovski]

Kale is great. I love all greens, but apart from some of the oriental ones, I think Kale is my favourite.

It ususally is a good idea to remove the tough stalky bit (Although I tend not to bother in soups). Its great shredded and put into Mashed potato too, with lots and lots of butter.

Simply lighty boiled, and then quickly fried with oil and garlic (And maybe a bit of chilli too) it is a great veggie dish.

[slbunge]

Thinking about the potato/kale combination led that in John Thorne's book Pot on the Fire, he offers an essay about the potato and it's links to Irish history. In it, he indicates that historically Colchannon was made with either cabbage or kale. His Colchannon recipe is essentially as follows:

Cook kale until just tender, shred it and stir into mashed potatoes moistened with milk. Turn the mixture into some onions that have been sweated in a skillet using bacon fat. Cut and turn the mixture with a spatula as it browns and serve hot.

Edited March 10, 2004 by slbunge (log)

[Tracy K.]

Just had to add my personal taste here--I don't like kale! (heretic!) I think it tastes like chewing on grass. However, I do love the taste of chard and, especially, collards. For those of you who are thinking of growing any greens, they're very adaptable...you don't need a vegetable garden...just tuck them into a sunny spot and give them room. Most greens prefer cooler weather, and if you plant now, you'll be able to harvest until the hotter summer weather comes along. You don't have to take the entire plant, just pick the lower leaves and the plant will continue to produce. Hot weather (and the definition of hot varies with each plant variety) will cause the plant to "bolt"--i.e., send up a flower stalk. Once the plant bolts, the leaves will become unappetizing, usually quite bitter. If you live in an area with frost/freezes and want the greens for the fall, start them in early-mid July. Chard isn't fond of frost; Kale handles it (with the obvious inclusion of ornamental kales that only begin to turn color when the days cool down and the day-length shortens); and collards love it. A couple of good frosts will give you collards that are so sweet and delicious. Just like with any veggie--if you have the space, even just a couple of pots, you can enjoy the tastiest food!